HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's not quite here yet, the new year...but I doubt I will be up long enough to celebrate with all of you late night new year welcomers!


So:
Happy New Years to all of you. Here's to hoping this coming year will be full of joy, excitement, new beginnings and success.

I am not jumping on the New Year's Resolution bandwagon, but my biggest hope for this year is that I can anticipate each day with gusto and resolve to help make mine, my children and Jeremiah's lives happy and fulfilling.

Here's to great conversations. Here's to learning and growing. Here's to great food and many sunny days. Here's to many sales and many happy customers.

GOOD NIGHT ALL!

A Holiday Photo Extravaganza!

We had a wonderful holiday! Here's a little photo journey to see what we've been up to this week/weekend.


Here are the girls and Jeremiah and Elijah coming down the steps on Christmas morning. Elijah can't keep his eyes off of the tree and the presents...he looks like he's about to jump out of Jeremiah's arms!




My family on Christmas morning:


This is Jeremiah's brother Craig and Craig's wife Gabby. They're looking at the present we got them for Christmas.



This is a quick snapshot of the littlest kids on our mini car-trip Christmas Eve. I probably shouldn't be snapping pics while driving.


Elijah and his blonde counterpart, his cousin, Landon.


Here are two things I had time to work on, a custom order and a christmas hat for my baby sister:

Merry Christmas To All....

...and to all a goodnight.

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with Jeremiah's mom and his brother and his brother's wife. It was relaxing, all of my excellent children behaved well and now they're all in bed. Can life get better than this?

So goodnight blogging world, I'm looking forward to a hectic and crazy Christmas morning. Hope Santa fills all of your stockings with gobs of candy and junk!

A Very Chill Christmas?

Is there such thing as a relaxed holiday? Is that even a possibility?

Just drop in on any phone line across the nation and these are the types of conversations you would hear: Where do we go from 3-4p.m. Christmas eve? Where are we scheduled to appear noon-2pm on Christmas Day? Who will pick up Grandma? Did anyone else get (insert appropriate niece name here) Mario Party for the DS? Will So and So's grandma be mad if we go to breakfast before we go to her house? Will aunt so and so be disappointed if we stay home in our pj's instead of trekking to Hackensack to eat more cookies? Do I need to explain to anyone why this bothers me?

This isn't an irate complaining type post, I'm not being pressured by pissed off grandmas or depressed aunts in Hackensack, but I am feeling the crunch of the season in the strain in many people's voices. I'm hearing some are feeling slighted, some are tired, some worried about money, some just wish it weren't Christmas at all...and isn't that a horrible notion?

I look forward to special occasions because some of the happiest childhood memories I have are of the holidays. My brother Joshua and I singing Christmas songs, making cookies with my Grandma Bert, watching football with my Pappy Jack, playing cards with my cousins, seeing my baby siblings open their first Christmas gifts, or seeing them sit on Santa's lap. (There is a privilege us oldest children have, we get to experience joyous moments over and over and over again through the eyes of our siblings first, and then through the eyes of our children.)

Why is that once you reach adulthood those moments seem fleeting, or less frequent?

I put those childhood moments on par with very different moments of my adulthood. The day I brought Rose home from the hospital, the first time Olivia smiled, when Max finally said Mama, seeing Elijah born, watching him in the ocean for the first time. The first moment I saw Jeremiah after not speaking for ten years, going to sleep with him holding my hand, staying up late talking about things we don't really know anything about. These are moments people should be talking about during the holidays. Times when we shared something special, even intimate. Opening up to each other enough to fully enjoy their company. You notice that not one moment I just recalled had any gift giving in it, no stressed out yelling, no fights on the phone, no grudges started to go on for decades.

Should I stop being sad for everyone else and just hold on to those special memories and the notion that I will have a million more before I die?


O.K.

Merry Christmas, You Jerks!!!!

One Giant Family plus Christmas Decorations equals: INSANITY

Our family isn't anywhere as HUGE as some peoples, I'm fully aware of that...But when you get our four chidren together for an activity it seems like they're multiplied by three, at least.
Olivia insisted we stand apart so she could see more of this christmas tree. Can you stand how adorable Jeremiah looks in his PJs? Ahhh! He's so freaking cute!

Elijah (14 months) wasn't all that happy at this point. He's still adorable.
He's not helping AT ALL here, actually he's pulling the bulb off of the tree. This happened a trillion times more.
Olivia (5, almost 6) was a decorating NAZI. She became bossy and very easily upset with her siblings during the tree beautifying process.

Rosey (8) is always an angel.

Max(3)is emaciated from the flu she still isn't over yet. She really enjoyed decorating though.

New Ultra-Cute Thingies

This is a custom order set I'm working on for a customer right now. She didn't like the first hat(more accurately her husband thought it looked like Darth Vader's helmet), so I made a second and hopefully she loves this one as much as I do.


I made this hat for Jeremiah's niece, Haley. Her mom told me Haley's coat is hot pink and grey, so I took a gamble with this yarn, not knowing what shade of hot pink to get, and it turned out to match EXACTLY! I'll post more pics when I get some of her in it and her coat!


This is a set of hats for sisters. The mom won my giveaway last month and I made these for her daughters, ages 2 and 4. She said she wanted 'girly'! I don't think I could have made them anymore so!


I made this set for sale, but never listed it. I hate my camera and I'm never happy with the photos. I wish I sold more items so I can buy a new camera!!! Yay!! ;P


I'm working on this new 'design'. A 'Little Red Riding Hood'. It's not quite done and I can't get Max to pose for me, and my camera stinks. :D Did I mention I hate my camera? haha.

Give me some feedback, if you have time! And don't forget to check out the store:
Ultra-Cute Crochet

Elijah and Momma

Shared custody is a sort of mixed blessing. I hate being away from my daughters, which is especially painful considering I didn't have to share them at all before, and was with them 24-7. But now I get to spend so much time with Elijah, one on one.

A Thanksgiving Photo Journey: Jackson Style

Jeremiah and Kirk tried to hold Elijah down for pictures, didn't work out that well!



Here is a little snippet of our wonderful thanksgiving.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Everyone's always talking about what they're thankful for every single thanksgiving. What's up with that? haha.
So here's my list:
I'm thankful for the sun. Some days I wake up and the sun is streaming in through the windows and it's like bliss. Warm and bright, it often reminds me of Olivia.

I'm thankful for our home with it's white walls and built in bookcases. I'm thankful that Jeremiah works so hard to provide us with such a nice home.

I'm thankful for the moments I get along with my siblings, I'm thankful that I've had so much time with my grandparents. I'm lucky and fortunate to have spent my life with them.

I'm thankful for books and everyone who's ever written one. I'm jealous and in awe.

I'm thankful that my children are so incredibly healthy. We're blessed with vibrant, happy and healthy children. They might be messy sometimes, and they might fight way too much, but they're not sick.

I'm thankful for the moments with Jeremiah that are quiet and peaceful. I know I'm a pain in the arse, but I can feel how much he loves me in those moments and it makes everything seem worthwhile.

I'm thankful for Ben Folds. I know that sounds silly, but I listen to him everyday and he just makes me smile. Thanks dude.

Hope everyone has a safe holiday and all that crap!

Mindies

These are some new 'designs' I've been messing with. Little change purses! I'm calling them 'Mindies' because they remind me of my Mindi, but don't ask me how a crocheted item could remind me of a person.
Tell me which one you like the best so I get an idea of which ones I should sell or make more of!

This is CarolLeeDesigns and I LOVE her greeting cards. Especially 'Hate Mail for the Holidays'. Hilarious!
- Looks like you've donned your gay apparel
- Time to get out the fat pants
- Mistletoe, schmistletoe. I've got mace.
- Wishing you an acceptable Christmas and an adequate New Year
- Restraining order be damned. I'll see you at Christmas.
- He sees you when you're sleeping.

My favorite is the 'restraining order' one. I think I might be getting these to supplement my photo cards this year! Hooray!

The shop also has a Spring Line Up:
- You go, girl. No, really. Go.
- Welcome to reality. Here's your shovel.
- It's a good thing you're pretty.- Your probation officer must be so proud.
- I admire your low standards.
- Jesus loves you... but I hear He's not picky.
- Congrats to you and the baby daddy.
- When I found out, the fourth person I thought of was you.
- U.G.L.Y. you ain't got no alibi, you ugly.
- Karma called and she didn't sound happy.- You're a special kind of crazy.
- Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
- Why can't you be more like your sister.
- A little birdie told me you suck.
- You say 'tomato'. I say 'shut the hell up'.
- Why can't I hate the player and the game?

I'm tempted to get the "Why can't you be more like your sister?" for my sister's birthday...Too bad it's almost a year away...Maybe I'll get it for my mom, who has three sisters...

The Way You Make Me Feel

Ironic that I would talk about 'time spent' while I'm typing on the computer and watching my son try to climb up the mammoth kitchen set, but bear with me just this once (and then once next week, and maybe two or three more times after that).
I have been thinking alot about the time we spend with our loved ones, and what kind of mark we're making on them, and vice versa. Sometimes you equate a certain person with the emotion they make you feel when you are with them, or talking to them.

When I'm with my children I feel proud and happy. Max is more testing than the other three, which makes the moments when she's not disturbing everything around her heightened and more joyful.

Jeremiah makes me feel beautiful and complete. Everyone has their battles and ups and downs. I would work through most anything with him, because I know in my heart he is ever mine. And how many people can know that in their lifetime? So, he also makes me feel lucky.

My mother makes me feel like I should be busier. Like she could stop over at any minute and I'll be sitting here typing something like this! Doh!

Liz makes me feel funny and helpful, even though I doubt I'm rarely either of those things!

Me me me, this is how you make me feel people! Other people's blogs make me feel human and informed. Watching MSNBC at night while I'm falling asleep makes me feel more informed as well, like I'm getting all the pertinent information through osmosis (which I'm not).

David Letterman makes me feel silly, Jeff Goldblum makes me frazzled...sort of the same way my mom does, although I'm not sure why. Strange. Maybe Jeff Goldblum is my real father.

Olivia's bus driver makes me feel relaxed. This kick ass old dude drops her off in front of our house everyday, just cause he's totally nice. Thanks old dude! I try to smile and say 'Hello' and 'Thank You!' everyday.

Rosey Posey

I know I talk about my kids ALL THE TIME, but I took some photos of Rose in a new set for the store, and she is absolutely amazing. Breathtaking. Amazing. Here, I'll show you!
Rose used to tell me that she was going to be America's Next Top Model. Obviously it was no stretch of the imagination!

Customer Photo from Mandy

Here are two more customer photos from Mandy in Flordia. She purchased one of my favorite hats and also left me the nicest feedback at my store at Ultra-Cute Crochet:

"Completely awesome work! Extremely comfortable to wear, durable, and great fit! I'm in love the hat (and so is everyone else)! You people are crazy if you don't buy some of Erin's work! I can't wait to get more."

Sooo nice!

I love getting to see customer photos!

Customer Appreciation Photo

Here is a very cute, but very small 'customer appreciation' image. The beanie on this adorable baby boy was a custom order. It makes me think I should get more pictures of Elijah in his beanies. He doesn't leave them on for very long. Oh, the irony.